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Abstract The hydrochemical characteristics of river water are influenced by a multitude of factors, reflecting the surrounding geographical environment. The Shaliu River, located in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau (TP), serves as a typical inland alpine permafrost watershed. In this study, we compiled data on dissolved strontium (Sr) concentration, 87Sr/86Sr isotopic, and hydrochemical profiles from the Shaliu River during the ablation period (May–October). Additionally, we gathered information on the Sr concentration and 87Sr/86Sr in the sediment of the river. The pattern of spatial heterogeneity in observed strontium (Sr) compositions can largely be attributed to lithological characteristics encountered at different locations along the river. The chemical components of Sr in the waters are derived from a combination of carbonate and silicate materials, with carbonates contributing between 69% and 81% and silicates contributing 19%–31%. The annual dissolved Sr flux is estimated to be 132 t/a. In addition to the influence of lithology and weathering processes, we propose that freeze‐thaw cycles within the permafrost layer may significantly affect the chemical mass flux in alpine permafrost watersheds because they generate substantial amounts of loose and easily erodible materials. Climate warming may further intensify the weathering processes in these watersheds, potentially leading to an increase in the Sr flux. This study is crucial for developing a comprehensive understanding of the geochemical composition of dissolved solutes in alpine permafrost regions, as well as for identifying the factors that regulate river water chemistry.

This paper addresses polarimetric adaptive coherent detection of radar targets embedded in sea clutter. Initially, radar clutter data across multiple polarimetric channels is modeled using a compound Gaussian framework featuring an unspecified speckle covariance matrix and lognormal texture distribution. Subsequently, three adaptive polarimetric coherent detectors are derived, employing parameter estimation and two-step versions of the generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT): the complex parameter Rao and Wald tests. These detectors utilize both clutter texture distribution information and radar data’s polarimetric aspects to enhance detection performance. Simulation experiments demonstrate the superiority of three proposed detectors over the competitors, and that they are sensitive to polarimetric channel parameters such as secondary data quantity, target or clutter speckle correlation, and signal-to-clutter ratio disparity. Additionally, the proposed detectors exhibit a near-constant false alarm rate relative to average clutter power and speckle covariance matrix.

Membrane distillation is a novel membrane-based separation technology with the potential to produce pure water from high-salinity brine. It couples transport behaviors along the membrane and across the membrane. The brine in the feed is gradually concentrated due to the permeate flux across the membrane, which is a significant factor in initiating the scaling behavior on the membrane surface along the feed flow direction. It is of great interest to investigate and estimate the development of scaling on the membrane surface. This work specifically focuses on a long-distance membrane distillation process with a sodium chloride solution as the feed. A modeling approach has been developed to estimate the sodium chloride scaling development on the membrane surface along the flow direction. A set of experiments was conducted to validate the results. Based on mathematical simplification and analytical fitting, a simplified model was summarized to predict the initiating position of sodium chloride scaling on the membrane, which is meaningful for scaling control in industrial-scale applications of membrane distillation.

The Snow Cover Service Value (SCSV) is an important component of the ecological assets of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP). Exploring the SCSVs on the QTP is the key to maintaining the functions of climate regulators and Asian water towers, and it is also an important theoretical basis for maintaining the ecological security of ecological barrier areas. Using multi-source data such as daily and monthly observation data sets and related statistical yearbooks, an evaluation framework for the SCSVs on the QTP was constructed for the first time. The results showed that the average annual SCSV of the QTP from 2001 to 2020 was 6.99 trillion yuan, and the average annual climate regulation value was 5.81 trillion yuan, which was the most important SCSV. The Inner Plateau Basin, the Brahmaputra Basin, and the Yangtze Basin had the highest SCSVs, while the Yellow Basin had the lowest unit SCSV, where it was the most vulnerable area of snow cover resources on the QTP, and the SCSV of the Yellow Basin was significantly correlated with rainfall. The correlation between the SCSV and the temperature in the Indus and Ganges Basins was significant. The freshwater supply value of the snow in the Indus Basin and Tarim Basin was found to be able to reach 30% of the whole year in June, where it would be necessary to pay attention to the risk of flooding caused by snowmelt during the melting period. Finally, this paper discussed the strategies for the protection and development of snow resources in each basin based on the spatial distribution characteristics, seasonal variation characteristics, and influencing factors of the SCSVs. The research can provide reference for the rational allocation of snow resources and ecological protection on the QTP.

Phosphoinositides, a small group of lipids found in all cellular membranes, have recently garnered heightened attention due to their crucial roles in diverse biological processes and different diseases. Among these, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2), the most abundant bis-phosphorylated phosphoinositide within the signaling system, stands notably connected to breast cancer. Not only does it serve as a key activator of the frequently altered phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway in breast cancer, but also its conversion to phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-triphosphate (PI(3,4,5)P3) is an important direction for breast cancer research. The generation and degradation of phosphoinositides intricately involve phosphoinositide kinases. PI(4,5)P2 generation emanates from the phosphorylation of PI4P or PI5P by two lipid kinase families: Type I phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate 5-kinases (PIP5Ks) and Type II phosphatidylinositol-5-phosphate 4-kinases (PIP4Ks). In this comprehensive review, we focus on these two lipid kinases and delineate their compositions and respective cellular localization. Moreover, we shed light on the expression patterns and functions of distinct isoforms of these kinases in breast cancer. For a deeper understanding of their functional dynamics, we expound upon various mechanisms governing the regulation of PIP5Ks and PIP4Ks activities. A summary of effective and specific small molecule inhibitors designed for PIP5Ks or PIP4Ks are also provided. These growing evidences support PIP5Ks and PIP4Ks as promising drug targets for breast cancer.

As an important ecological security barrier and a key region for biodiversity conservation in China, assessing ecosystem services (ESs) on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) over long time series is of great significance. In this study, we quantified and analyzed the ESs of the QTP based on modeling combined with multivariate data. The results showed that habitat quality, water conservation, carbon storage and soil retention on the QTP from 1985 to 2020 were generally positive, and the quality of ESs and the distribution of cold hot spots were spatially consistent. The conservation of forest, shrub and grassland on the QTP contributed to the improvement of ESs. The supply capacity of ESs was higher in the southeastern part of the QTP while the areas with higher demand were located in the northeast. Based on quadrant division, it was found that the mismatch between supply and demand of ESs on the QTP was mainly ''low supply and low demand'' and ''high supply and low demand''. From 2020–2050, ESs on the QTP show varying degrees of increase under all scenarios, with greater changes in ESs under the SSP3–7.0 scenario and the slowest growth in ESs under the SSP5–8.5 scenario.

Soil water plays a key role in vegetation growth and ecological stability in cold regions. The soil water sources in the Qilian Mountains of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau have been quantified based on stable isotope data (δ2H and δ18O) of 1913 samples. The results indicated that δ18O of soil water ranged from ˗14.13–11.21‰, with an average of ˗6.78‰, and on a spatial scale, it increased gradually from the southeast to the northwest, where it became more positive. The stable isotopes of soil water are affected by evaporation, leading to a lower slope and interception of the evaporation line: δ2H = 3.23 δ18O–32.51 (R2 = 0.71, p

The Three River Headwaters (TRH) is located in the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is the birthplace of the Yellow River, Yangtze River and the Lancang River, and has an extremely important ecological status. In this paper, we use the InVEST model and USLE equation to assess the ecosystem services (ESs) of TRH as well as to identify the ecological security pattern of the TRH and propose ecological conservation pattern. The results show that the ESs of the TRH had an overall increasing trend from 1990 to 2020, with a cumulative increase of 4% in the area of Class III hotspots. Based on the construction of the ecological source and minimum resistance surface of the TRH, a total of 262 ecological corridors with a total length of 22437 km are identified. To improve the ecological protection pattern of the TRH, Priority Protection Area (PPA), Consolidation Enhancement Area (CEA) and Coordination Optimization Area (COA) are divided. Next, the originality of the PPA's complex and fragile ecosystem types should be protected, and disturbance by human activities is strictly prohibited. The CEA should accelerate the establishment of a new mechanism of cross-linkage among various departments to deal with the difficult problems in ecological protection. COA should combine the unique resources of the area to develop green tourism and leisure and sightseeing pastoralism to drive regional economic development.

Supply Chain Coordination Management (SCCM) is an effective tool and has become a hot topic related to the supply chain. In order to clarify the SCCM research framework and its evolution, we conducted a literature study, using 5748 papers collected from the Web of Science database from 2005 to 2020 as the data source, using bibliometric analysis and visualization methods to document the SCCM research Quantitative analysis and visual analysis. This article first analyzes the time series distribution of papers published in the SCCM field, the core author group, the distribution of research institutions, the distribution of important journals, the author's co-occurrence network, and the keyword cluster analysis, and explains the current research status and research hotspots of SCCM. Secondly, use CiteSpace software to conduct timetone cluster analysis of keywords in the SCCM field, and further explore the frontiers of SCCM research. Finally, 5748 documents are summarized, and the research hotspots of SCCM in various time periods are systematically explained, which can provide theoretical and practical references for the future research.

In this work, lamellar graphitic carbon nitride nanosheet membranes are constructed for gas separation. Benefiting from their high-density intrinsic in-plane nanopores and broader permeable interlayer channels, the proposed membranes exhibit high H2 permeance with good selectivity of multiple gas mixtures.

Accurate measurement of the embodied carbon emissions (ECE) generated by international trade is the basis for formulating fair and objective global carbon emission control strategies. This paper proposed an improved multi-regional input-output model and applied it to analyze production and consumption activities related to China's light industry sector based on its position within the global supply chain. It was found that manufacturing of light industry general equipment was the most important contributor to increased ECE, and 13 of China's 16 light industries for which data were available were a net carbon sink generated by international trade. Further, it was also revealed that China received a net transfer of carbon emissions from 12 countries, such as Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. China, as an exporter of carbon emissions, was also responsible for increasing the ECE generated by the international trade of China's light industry sector in 27 countries. Such findings provide an empirical basis for revised international trade strategies and policies to improve energy conservation and reduce carbon emissions.

The structure and mechanical properties of the stomatopod dactyl club have been studied extensively for its extreme impact tolerance, but a systematic in situ investigation on the multiscale mechanical responses under high-speed impact has not been reported. Here the full dynamic deformation and crack evolution process within projectile-impacted dactyl using combined fast 2D X-ray imaging and high-resolution ex situ tomography are revealed. The results show that hydration states can lead to significantly different toughening mechanisms inside dactyl under dynamic loading. A previously unreported 3D interlocking structural design in the impact surface and impact region is reported using nano X-ray tomography. Experimental results and dynamic finite-element modeling suggest this unique structure plays an important role in resisting catastrophic structural damage and hindering crack propagation. This work is a contribution to understanding the key toughening strategies of biological materials and provides valuable information for biomimetic manufacturing of impact-resistant materials in general.

Abstract In this work, Ti3C2Tx MXene was identified as efficient nanozyme with area-dependent electrocatalytic activity in oxidation of phenolic compounds, which originated from the strong adsorption effect between the phenolic hydroxyl group and the oxygen atom on the surface of Ti3C2Tx MXene flake. On the basis of the novel electrocatalytic activity, Ti3C2Tx MXene was combined with alkaline phosphatase to construct a novel cascading catalytic amplification strategy using 1-naphthyl phosphate (1-NPP) as substrate, thereby realizing efficient electrochemical signal amplification. Taking advantage of the novel cascading catalytic amplification strategy, an electrochemical biosensor was fabricated for BCR/ABL fusion gene detection, which achieved excellent sensitivity with linear range from 0.2 fM to 20 nM and limit of detection down to 0.05 fM. This biosensor provided a promising tool for ultrasensitive fusion gene detection in early diagnosis of chronic myelogenous leukemia and acute lymphocytic leukemia. Moreover, the manageable catalytic activity of MXene broke a path for developing nanozymes, which possessed enormous application potential in not only electrochemical analysis but also the extensive fields including organic synthesis, pollutant disposal and so on. Graphical Abstract

Given the issues of soil cracking, poor water retention during drought, and erosion damage caused by rainfall, we conducted an in-depth study on the water retention properties, cracking resistance, and scouring resistance of biogel-amended clay using evaporation cracking and scouring tests. The hydrophysical properties and cohesive aggregation mechanism of biogel-amended clay were explored, and the results showed that the incorporation of biogel improved the water retention, cracking resistance, and scour resistance of the clay samples. With an increase in the biogel content, the biogel mucous membrane inside the samples improved the cohesion between soil particles, reduced the generation and development of cracks, and improved the cracking resistance. There was no significant cracking of the samples after the biogel content reached 0.3%, which changed the migration of water in the sample, prevented water evaporation, and improved the water retention of the clay samples. Biofilm can change the migration of water in the sample, prevent some evaporation, and reduce the evaporation rate. To a certain extent, it can enhance the water retention capacity of the sample. Enhanced biofilm content significantly reduced scouring in the process of rainfall and runoff erosion of the sample, and biofilm content of 0.2% significantly reduced the surface of the specimen damaged by erosion. The hydrophysical properties of the composite-adhesive-amended clay samples were significantly improved compared with those of the single-bioadhesive-amended clay samples.

Deep vein thrombosis is a common clinical peripheral vascular disease that occurs frequently in orthopaedic patients and may lead to pulmonary embolism (PE) if the thrombus is dislodged. pulmonary embolism can be prevented by placing an inferior vena cava filter (IVCF) to intercept the dislodged thrombus. Thus, IVCFs play an important role in orthopaedics. However, the occurrence of complications after inferior vena cava filter placement, particularly recurrent thromboembolism, makes it necessary to carefully assess the risk-benefit of filter placement. There is no accepted statement as to whether IVCF should be placed in orthopaedic patients. Based on the problems currently displayed in the use of IVCFs, an ideal IVCF is proposed that does not affect the vessel wall and haemodynamics and intercepts thrombi well. The biodegradable filters that currently exist come close to the description of an ideal filter that can reduce the occurrence of various complications. Currently available biodegradable IVCFs consist of various organic polymeric materials. Biodegradable metals have shown good performance in making biodegradable IVCFs. However, among the available experimental studies on degradable filters, there are no experimental studies on filters made of degradable metals. This article reviews the use of IVCFs in orthopaedics, the current status of filters and the progress of research into biodegradable vena cava filters and suggests possible future developments based on the published literature by an electronic search of PubMed and Medline databases for articles related to IVCFs searchable by October 2022 and a manual search for citations to relevant studies.

Locoregional therapies (LRTs) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represented by ablation and TACE has become the main means for the clinical treatment of unresectable HCC. Among these, TACE is used throughout the stage Ib to IIIb of HCC treatment. In recent years, immunotherapy led by immune checkpoint inhibitors has become a hot direction in clinical research. At the same time, targeted drugs such as Sorafenib and Apatinib have played an important role in the treatment and complementary therapy of advanced HCC, and their clinical application has been quite mature. HCC is the sixth most common malignant tumor in the world. When it comes to its treatment, different therapies have different indications, and their individual efficacies are not satisfactory, which makes the exploration of the use of combination therapy in HCC treatment become a new trend. In this paper, the status of the three therapies and the progress of their combined application are briefly reviewed.

Abstract Background The tumour microenvironment contributes to chemotherapy resistance in gliomas, and glioma-associated mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (gaMSCs) are important stromal cell components that play multiple roles in tumour progression. However, whether gaMSCs affect chemotherapy resistance to the first-line agent temozolomide (TMZ) remains unclear. Herein, we explored the effect and mechanism of gaMSCs on resistance to TMZ in glioma cells. Methods Human glioma cells (cell line U87MG and primary glioblastoma cell line GBM-1) were cultured in conditioned media of gaMSCs and further treated with TMZ. The proliferation, apoptosis and migration of glioma cells were detected by Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8), flow cytometry and wound-healing assays. The expression of FOXS1 in glioma cells was analysed by gene microarray, PCR and Western blotting. Then, FOXS1 expression in glioma cells was up- and downregulated by lentivirus transfection, and markers of the epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) process were detected. Tumour-bearing nude mice were established with different glioma cells and treated with TMZ to measure tumour size, survival time and Ki-67 expression. Finally, the expression of IL-6 in gaMSC subpopulations and its effects on FOXS1 expression in glioma cells were also investigated. Results Conditioned media of gaMSCs promoted the proliferation, migration and chemotherapy resistance of glioma cells. The increased expression of FOXS1 and activation of the EMT process in glioma cells under gaMSC-conditioned media were detected. The relationship of FOXS1, EMT and chemotherapy resistance in glioma cells was demonstrated through the regulation of FOXS1 expression in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, FOXS1 expression in glioma cells was increased by secretion of IL-6 mainly from the CD90low gaMSC subpopulation. Conclusions CD90low gaMSCs could increase FOXS1 expression in glioma cells by IL-6 secretion, thereby activating epithelial-mesenchymal transition and resistance to TMZ in glioma cells. These results indicate a new role of gaMSCs in chemotherapy resistance and provide novel therapeutic targets.

Abstract An ion‐selective membrane can directly convert the osmotic energy to electricity through reverse electrodialysis. However, developing an advanced membrane that simultaneously possesses high power density, excellent mechanical strength, and convenient large‐scale production for practical osmotic energy conversion, remains challenging. Here, the fabrication of ultrathin and ultrastrong Kevlar aramid nanofiber (KANF) membranes with interconnected three‐dimensional (3D) nanofluidic channels via a simple blade coating method is reported. The negatively charged 3D nanochannels show typical surface‐charge‐governed nanofluidic ion transport and exhibit excellent cation selectivity. When applied to osmotic energy conversion, the power density of the KANF membrane‐based generator reaches 4.8 W m–2 (seawater/river water) and can be further increased to 13.8 W m–2 at 328 K, which are higher than most of the state‐of‐the‐art membranes. Importantly, a 4‐µm‐thickness KANF membrane shows ultrahigh tensile strength (565 MPa) and Young's modulus (25 GPa). This generator also exhibits ultralong stability over 120 days, showing great potential in practical energy conversions.

BackgroundPortal hypertension monitoring is important throughout the natural course of cirrhosis. Hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG), regarded as the golden standard, is limited by invasiveness and technical difficulties. Portal hypertension is increasingly being assessed non-invasively, and hematological indices, imaging data, and statistical or computational models are studied to surrogate HVPG. This paper discusses the existing non-invasive methods based on measurement principles and reviews the methodological developments in the last 20 years.MethodsFirst, we used VOSviewer to learn the architecture of this field. The publications about the non-invasive assessment of portal hypertension were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). VOSviewer 1.6.17.0 was used to analyze and visualize these publications, including the annual trend, the study hotspots, the significant articles, authors, journals, and organizations in this field. Next, according to the cluster analysis result of the keywords, we further retrieved and classified the related studies to discuss.ResultsA total of 1,088 articles or review articles about our topic were retrieved from WoSCC. From 2000 to 2022, the number of publications is generally growing. “World Journal of Gastroenterology” published the most articles (n = 43), while “Journal of Hepatology” had the highest citations. “Liver fibrosis” published in 2005 was the most influential manuscript. Among the 20,558 cited references of 1,088 retrieved manuscripts, the most cited was a study on liver stiffness measurement from 2007. The highest-yielding country was the United States, followed by China and Italy. “Berzigotti, Annalisa” was the most prolific author and had the most cooperation partners. Four study directions emerged from the keyword clustering: (1) the evaluation based on fibrosis; (2) the evaluation based on hemodynamic factors; (3) the evaluation through elastography; and (4) the evaluation of variceal bleeding.ConclusionThe non-invasive assessment of portal hypertension is mainly based on two principles: fibrosis and hemodynamics. Liver fibrosis is the major initiator of cirrhotic PH, while hemodynamic factors reflect secondary alteration of splanchnic blood flow. Blood tests, US (including DUS and CEUS), CT, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) support the non-invasive assessment of PH by providing both hemodynamic and fibrotic information. Elastography, mainly USE, is the most important method of PH monitoring.

Study region: The ecological barrier region is located in the northeastern of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, western China, serves as an important ecological security barrier and water conservation zone. Owing to its unique geographical location, this region has a sensitive and fragile ecosystem. Study focus: This study comprehensively quantified the water conservation volume, analyzed the spatiotemporal variations and its influencing factors, predicted the future changes of water conservation under different climate scenarios. New hydrological insights for the region: The results showed that the average water conservation volume of the ecological barrier region was approximately 254 × 108 m3 from 1980 to 2019 with a increasing trend. The spatial distribution of water conservation showed a decreasing trend from southeast to northwest. There is a significant positive correlation between precipitation and water conservation (P

Bacilli are used as biocontrol agents (BCAs) against phytopathogens and most of them can produce poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) as one of the major extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs). However, the role of γ-PGA in plant biocontrol is still unclear. In this study, Bacillus atrophaeus NX-12 (γ-PGA yield: 16.8 g/l) was screened, which formed a strong biofilm and has been proved to be a promising BCA against Cucumber Fusarium wilt. Then, the γ-PGA synthesis gene cluster pgsBCA was knocked out by CRISPR-Cas9n. Interestingly, the antifungal ability of γ-PGA synthetase-deficient strain NX-12Δpgs (γ-PGA yield: 1.65 g/l) was improved in vitro, while the biocontrol ability of NX-12Δpgs was greatly diminished in situ. Data proved that γ-PGA produced by NX-12 contributes to the biofilm formation and rhizosphere colonization, which effectively improved biocontrol capability. Taken together, these findings prove that the mechanism of γ-PGA promotes the colonization of NX-12 and thus assists in controlling plant diseases, which highlight the key role of γ-PGA produced by BCA in biocontrol.

A 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine against invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) was introduced in China in April 2017. We describe 105 children

Typical representations for arbitrary-oriented object detection tasks include the oriented bounding box (OBB), the quadrilateral bounding box (QBB), and the point set (PointSet). Each representation encounters problems that correspond to its characteristics, such as boundary discontinuity, square-like problems, representation ambiguity, and isolated points, which lead to inaccurate detection. Although many effective strategies have been proposed for various representations, there is still no unified solution. Current detection methods based on Gaussian modeling have demonstrated the possibility of resolving this dilemma; however, they remain limited to OBB. To go further, in this paper, we propose a unified Gaussian representation called G-Rep to construct Gaussian distributions for OBB, QBB, and PointSet, which achieves a unified solution to various representations and problems. Specifically, PointSet- or QBB-based object representations are converted into Gaussian distributions and their parameters are optimized using the maximum likelihood estimation algorithm. Then, three optional Gaussian metrics are explored to optimize the regression loss of the detector because of their excellent parameter optimization mechanisms. Furthermore, we also use Gaussian metrics for sampling to align label assignment and regression loss. Experimental results obtained on several publicly available datasets, such as DOTA, HRSC2016, UCAS-AOD, and ICDAR2015, show the excellent performance of the proposed method for arbitrary-oriented object detection.

Abstract Tachycardia and atrial fibrillation, early symptoms of hyperthyroidism indicate significant hemodynamic variation in cardiovascular system, if left untreated and further deterioration in hemodynamics can result in chronic heart failure and liver dysfunction even a fatal event. We describe a female patient of Graves' hyperthyroidism to present the continuum of the pathophysiology development of the disease, to highlight the hemodynamic variation is a dominant contributing factor of Graves' hyperthyroidism complication, we wish to emphasize cardiac manifestations in the setting of thyrotoxicosis should be treated promptly and aggressively.

This study investigates the potential use of polyvinyl acetate emulsion in soil strengthening with emphasis on curing condition. Molded clay specimens treated with three polymer contents of 1%, 2%, and 3% (by the weight of dry soil) are cured in dry and humid environment, respectively. Unconfined compression tests are performed on the specimens after 1, 3, and 9 days of curing, and the results are compared with that for the untreated clay specimens. This comparison shows that polyvinyl acetate polymer can enhance soil mechanical properties. It was found that the compressive strength of soil-polymer composite increases significantly with the increase of polymer content and curing time in air-drying condition, which is 24% higher than that of plain soil after 9-day curing. The role of polymer treatment is to provide soil interparticle binding, which becomes particularly important in humid environments. In curing environments of high moisture, polymer-treated soils always have greater strength, but the effectiveness of polymer treatment decreases with polymer content. The scanning electron microscopies indicate that soil structure is reinforced mostly by three-dimensional interparticle polymeric bridges. The tension in polymeric threads and textiles provides the interparticle bonding that prevents the development of cracks.

lncRNA ANRIL was reported to be closely related to ischaemic stroke (IS). In this study, we used oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) to stimulate rat adrenal medulla-derived pheochromocytoma cell line PC-12 to construct an in vitro IS cell model and investigated the role of ANRIL and the underlying mechanism. PC-12 cells were stimulated by OGD and/or transfected with pc-ANRIL, si-ANRIL, miR-127 mimic, miR-127 inhibitor, pEX-Mcl-1, sh-Mcl-1 and their negative controls. Cell viability, apoptosis, mRNA and protein expression was detected using CCK-8 assay, flow cytometry assay, qRT-PCR and western blot, respectively. Results showed that OGD-induced PC-12 cell injury and decreased ANRIL expression. ANRIL overexpression significantly reduced OGD-induced PC-12 cell injury evidenced by increasing cell viability and decreasing apoptosis, while ANRIL silence led to the opposite results. Meanwhile, dysregulation of ANRIL altered the expression of apoptotic proteins. Furthermore, ANRIL negatively regulated miR-127 expression. miR-127 overexpression significantly enhanced OGD-induced PC-12 cell injury. In addition, Mcl-1 expression was negatively regulated by miR-127, besides ANRIL up-regulated Mcl-1 expression by down-regulation of miR-127. Mcl-1 overexpression alleviated cell injury and miR-127 silence up-regulated Mcl-1 expression. In conclusion, lncRNA ANRIL alleviated OGD-induced PC-12 cell injury as evidenced. PI3K/AKT pathway might be involved in this regulating progression.

Considering that, in the context of the ecological restoration of a large number of exposed rock slopes, it is difficult for existing artificial soil to meet the requirements of mechanical properties and ecological construction at the same time, this paper investigates the stabilization benefits of polyvinyl acetate and attapulgite-treated clayey soil through a series of laboratory experiments. To study the effectiveness of polyvinyl acetate (PVA) and attapulgite as soil stabilizer, a triaxial strength test, an evaporation test and a vegetation growth test were carried out on improved soil with different amounts of PVA content (0, 1%, 2%, 3%, and 4%) and attapulgite replacement (0, 2%, 4%, 6%, and 8%). The results show that the single and composite materials of polyvinyl acetate and attapulgite can increase the peak deviator stress of the sample. The addition of polyvinyl acetate can improve the soil strength by increasing the cohesion of the sample; the addition of attapulgite improves the soil strength mainly by increasing the internal friction angle of the sample. The strength of the composite is greatly improved by increasing the cohesion and internal friction angle of the sample at the same time. The effect of adding materials increased significantly with increasing curing age. Moreover, polyvinyl acetate and attapulgite improve the soil water retention of the soil by improving the water-holding capacity, so that the soil can still ensure the good growth of vegetation under long-term drought conditions. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images indicated that the PVA and attapulgite of soil affect the strength characteristics of soil specimens by the reaction of PVA and water, which changes the structure of the soil and, by the interweaving of attapulgite soil particles, acts as the skeleton of the aggregate. Overall, PVA and attapulgite can effectively increase clayey soil stability by improving the cohesive force and internal friction angle of clayey soil.

Clay is one of the important base materials in slope restoration. The adhesion of clay–rock interface plays a decisive role in the repairing effect on rock slopes. Fibers and polymers are widely used as a clay improvement method in rock slope repair. In this paper, the friction effect of sisal fiber and polyvinyl acetate (PVAc)-reinforced clay was studied through the design of an indoor rock-like interface sliding model test. Using modelled test results and scanning electron microscope (SEM) images, the reinforced clay was analyzed. The test results showed that the critical sliding angle and maximum static friction force of clay decreased with the increase of moisture content. An excess of fiber content and moisture content weakens the coupling effect of fiber-anchoring clay. Fiber content of 0.8% and PVAc content of 2% had the best effect on enhancing the sliding resistance of clay and provided good adhesion for dangerous interfaces of rock slope at 35° and 45°, respectively. PVAc formed a three-dimensional networked elastic membrane structure to improve the skid resistance and dynamic friction coefficient of the clay. The results provide an effective way for soil improvement and ecological restoration.

In rock engineering, block theory is a fundamental theory that aims to analyze the finiteness, removability, and mechanical stability of convex blocks under different engineering conditions. In practice, the possible combinations of the fractures and joint sets that may generate key blocks can be identified by stereographic projection graphs of block theory. However, classic key block theory does not provide solutions for nonconvex blocks, which are very common in civil projects, such as those with underground edges, corners, and portals. To enhance the availability of block theory, a general algorithm that can analyze the removability and stability of blocks of arbitrary shapes is proposed in this paper. In the proposed algorithm, the joint pyramid for blocks of arbitrary shapes can be computed, and the faces of the blocks are grouped according to their normal vectors such that parallel or nonadjacent sliding faces with the same normal vector can be immediately identified when the sliding mode is determined. With this algorithm, blocks of arbitrary shapes can be analyzed, and users do not need to have experience interpreting graphs of block theory to take advantage of its accuracy and effectiveness. The proposed algorithm was verified by several benchmarking examples, and it was further applied to investigate the stability of the left bank rock slope of a dam. The results showed that the proposed algorithm is correct, effective, and feasible for use in the design and support of excavation in complex rock masses.

The textile industry is production-intensive and incorporates diverse transactions made by multiple suppliers, corporate buyers, and supply chain members. In the business-to-business context, the cost for attracting a new customer is notably much higher than that needed to retain a present one. Customer loyalty in terms of customer repurchase intention has, therefore, been considered as a key determinant for textile companies to improve their efficiency and competitive advantage. This study aims to investigate the business-to-business repurchase intentions of Pakistan textile and clothing industry customers. The study framework specifically consolidates the mutual dynamics of appealing (service quality), facilitating (product returns), and averting (switching costs) factors altogether and the effect of these variables on customer satisfaction and thus on customer retention (repurchase intent) in the textile’s transactional scenario. A sample survey method is used for this study. The data collected through self-administered questionnaires (n = 325) from All Pakistan Textile Mills Association enlisted the employees of the companies. The structural equational modeling technique was applied to examine the study hypotheses. The findings contended that service quality and switching costs are essential determinants that shape the repurchase intentions. Therefore, product returns do not contribute toward customer satisfaction and also do not shape the intentions of business-to-business customers to repurchase from the same supplier after having even a good product return experience in past.

We highlight the role of fast food awareness and the features affecting the intentions of individuals buying it. The fast food industry is developing rapidly, opening new doors for various stakeholders. The objective of the study is to identify the impact of knowledge of fast food on the desire to buy fast food, study its impact on fast food purchasing intentions, and uncover the effect of fast food attitudes on consumers’ purchasing intentions and intention patterns. Several studies discuss the factors prompting fast food purchases, but convincing findings have not been reported. The previous research did not disclose some significant variables influencing consumers’ fast food-related decisions, namely, knowledge and uniqueness-seeking qualities. The existing studies are centered on connections between facts about fast food and unique consumer traits (independent variables), attitudes toward fast food (mediator), and fast food purchasing expectations (dependent variable). The mediator between attitudes toward fast food and fast food purchasing intentions is family structure. In previous studies, the variables and connections were examined from a different perspective. The study’s data were collected through a questionnaire, and 279 consumers frequenting well-known shops in Pakistan were sampled. To provide statistical evidence, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and multigroup moderations were performed. Knowledge of fast food and uniqueness-seeking characteristics were relevant both directly and through mediation when predicting fast food purchasing intentions. The hypothesized direction between attitudes toward fast food and fast food purchases was also significantly moderated by family structure. This study is the first of its kind and helps identify the fast food purchasing behaviors of consumers in developing countries. The shift from joint family systems to a nuclear family model is a particularly important change in the social experience of food.

The presence of pesticide residues in Dendrobium officinale (D. officinale), a commonly used herbal medicine, has attracted much attention in recent years. Therefore, this study presents the levels of 141 pesticide residues in forty D. officinale samples, which were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). And we used a deterministic estimate model to assess chronic and acute dietary exposure risk, as well as the cumulative risks for adults, children, and specific groups of consumers. Furthermore, the residual risk of individual pesticides was sorted by adapting the matrix-ranking scheme. In 92.5% of the samples, 43 pesticides were detected, of which difenoconazole had the highest detection frequency. Multiple residues were detected in 85.0% of the samples, and one sample contained even up to 17 pesticides. The chronic hazard quotient (HQc) and the acute hazard quotient (HQa) were far below 100%, and both cumulative chronic and acute hazard indices (HI) did not exceed 100%. The risk scoring scheme showed that four pesticides were considered to pose a comparatively potential high risk, including difenoconazole, carbofuran, fipronil, and emamectin benzoate. The results indicated that the occurrence of pesticide residues in D. officinale could not pose a serious health problem to the public.

Fractional order research has interdisciplinary characteristics and has been widely used in the field of natural sciences. Therefore, fractional order research has become an important area of concern for scholars. This paper used 2854 literatures collected from China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database from 2001 to 2020 as the data source and used bibliometrics and two visualization methods to conduct bibliometric analysis and visualization research on China’s fractional order research. To begin with, this paper analyzed the time series distribution of publications, the distribution of research institutions, the author cooccurrence network, the distribution of important journals, and the distribution of important literature, which explained the research status of the fractional order. Furthermore, this paper used VOSviewer software to analyze the clustering and density distribution of the fractional order research keywords, which revealed the hotspots of the fractional order research. Finally, with the help of CiteSpace software, the burst keywords were analyzed to further explore the frontiers of fractional order research. This paper systematically reveals the research status, research hotspots, and research frontiers of China’s fractional order research, which can provide certain theoretical and practical references for related follow-up researchers.

In this study, the fatigue performance of butt-welded austenitic stainless-steel joints is investigated by fatigue test, nominal-stress method and peak-stress method. Welding profiles and misalignment were analyzed, residual stresses were measured, and fatigue tests were conducted. The experimental fatigue data are regressed to the stress range versus life-to-failure ( S–N ) curve of the nominal stress method, and the factor affected dispersion is analyzed by using the peak-stress method. The following conclusion can be drawn: (1) The fatigue strength is 155 MPa in nominal stress method, which is higher than that of structural steel (80 MPa) in the international fatigue design standards. (2) The influence of the welding misalignment and distortion can be accurately estimated by the combing the reference S-N curve and stress magnification factor formulae from the international fatigue design standards.

Due to the adverse effect on the environment caused by excessive use of chemical fertilizers, the development of sustainable agriculture attracts a growing demand of biological based fertilizers composed of living microorganisms. In this study, an Actinobacteria Streptomyces lydicus M01 was isolated from the rhizosphere soil of Pyrus calleryana. This strain effectively promoted the plant growth and suppressed a foliar disease caused by Alternaria alternata on cucumbers. S. lydicus M01 exhibited growth promoting characteristics such as phosphate solubilization, IAA secretion, siderophore and ACC deaminase production. Through Illumina sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene and ITS gene of the soil microbes, we found that the application of S. lydicus M01 altered the composition of the microbial community by promoting beneficial groups, including bacteria genera Pseudarthrobacter, Sphingomonas, Rhodanobacter, and Pseudomonas, fungi genera Fusicolla, Humicola, Solicoccozyma, and Paraphaeosphaeria. Most of these bacteria and eukaryotes exhibit positive effects on growth promotion, such as nutrient accumulation, auxin secretion, abiotic stress alleviation, biological control, or bioremediation. Furthermore, studies on the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level and antioxidants of cucumber leaves revealed that S. lydicus M01 treatment reduced the ROS accumulation and increased the activities of antioxidases related with ROS scavenging, which indicated an enhanced disease resistance of cucumbers under biotic stress. Thus, our results suggest that the application of S. lydicus M01 can systemically affect plant microbiome interactions and represent a promising sustainable solution to improve agricultural production instead of chemical fertilizers.

Ginseng is an important traditional herbal medicine; however, ginseng root may contain pesticide residues that may cause adverse health effects to consumers. Generally, people are more inclined to take the household- or industrial-processed ginseng products, instead of eating them directly. To investigate the intake of pesticides along with ginseng more specifically, we simulated two household processing methods (boiling and brewing) and two industrial processing methods (ethanol refluxing and boiling combined with resin purification) and then calculated the transfer rates of five organochlorine pesticide (OCP) residues in ginseng. The determination of targeted pesticide residues in ginseng was done by gas chromatography-electron capture detector (GC-ECD), and the confirmation was done by gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometer (GC-MS/MS). The transfer rates of five OCPs during boiling, brewing, ethanol refluxing, and boiling combined with resin purification were 3.44%–34.43%, 1.47%–38.12%, 34.81%–57.0%, and 0–2.91%, respectively. The transfer rates of the OCPs in water extraction (boiling and brewing) were relatively low and would not increase significantly along with two hours of boiling. The OCPs were concentrated during the ethanol refluxing procedure because of the high transfer rates of the OCPs and the reduction of the weight of products. The boiling combined with resin purification method removed the OCPs most effectively. Different ginseng processing methods resulted in variable transfer rates of pesticides, as well as a diverse exposure risk of pesticides to humans. Consequently, it is necessary to concern about the transfer rates of pesticide residues during ginseng processing.

Two-dimensional materials show great potential for membrane technologies, but their disordered channels hinder their molecular sieving performance. Here, Wang, Gogotsi and colleagues design a MXene membrane with ordered nanochannels that exhibits an excellent H2/CO2 gas separation performance.

Compressive Sensing (CS) has proved to be an effective theory in the field of image acquisition. However, in order to distinguish the difference between the measurement matrices, the CS imaging system needs to have a higher signal sampling accuracy. At the same time, affected by the noise of the light path and the circuit, the measurements finally obtained are noisy, which directly affects the imaging quality. We propose a dual-optical imaging system that uses the bidirectional reflection characteristics of digital micromirror devices (DMD) to simultaneously acquire CS measurements and images under the same viewing angle. Since deep neural networks have powerful modeling capabilities, we trained the filter network and the reconstruction network separately. The filter network is used to filter the noise in the measurements, and the reconstruction network is used to reconstruct the CS image. Experiments have proved that the method we proposed can filter the noise in the sampling process of the CS system, and can significantly improve the quality of image reconstruction under a variety of algorithms.

Malaria and schistosomiasis are two of the most socioeconomically devastating parasitic diseases in tropical and subtropical countries. Since current chemotherapeutic options are limited and defective, there is an urgent need to develop novel antiplasmodials and antischistosomals. Hemozoin is a disposal product formed from the hemoglobin digestion by some blood-feeding parasites. Hemozoin formation is an essential process for the parasites to detoxify free heme, which is a reliable therapeutic target for identifying novel antiparasitic agents. A series of novel carbazole aminoalcohols were designed and synthesized as potential antiplasmodial and antischistosomal agents, and several compounds showed potent in vitro activities against Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 and Dd2 strains and adult and juvenile Schistosoma japonicum. Investigations on the dual antiparasitic mechanisms showed the correlation between inhibitory activity of β-hematin formation and antiparasitic activity. Inhibiting hemozoin formation was identified as one of the mechanisms of action of carbazole aminoalcohols. Compound 7 displayed potent antiplasmodial (Pf3D7 IC50 = 0.248 μM, PfDd2 IC50 = 0.091 μM) and antischistosomal activities (100% mortality of adult and juvenile schistosomes at 5 and 10 μg/mL, respectively) and exhibited low cytotoxicity (CC50 = 7.931 μM), which could be considered as a promising lead for further investigation. Stoichiometry determination and molecular docking studies were also performed to explain the mode of action of compound 7. Keywords: Carbazole aminoalcohols, Plasmodium falciparum, Schistosoma japonicum, Antiplasmodials, Antischistosomals, Hematin

Irreproducibility of biological findings is a major challenge for drug development. Here the authors examine the lifespans of 22 worm strains in three different laboratories and the effects of ten known chemicals to assess reproducibility in the face of variations in genetic background, chemical treatment and lab environment.

We propose a method to speed up the quantum adiabatic algorithm using catalysis by many-body delocalization. This is applied to random-field antiferromagnetic Ising spin models. The algorithm is catalyzed in such a way that the evolution approximates a Heisenberg model in the middle of its course, and the model is in a delocalized phase. We show numerically that we can speed up the standard algorithm for finding the ground state of the random-field Ising model using this idea. We also demonstrate that the speedup is due to gap amplification, even though the underlying model is not frustration-free. The crossover to speedup occurs at roughly the value of the interaction which is known to be the critical one for the delocalization transition. We also calculate the participation ratio and entanglement entropy as a function of time: Their time dependencies indicate that the system is exploring more states and that they are more entangled than when there is no catalyst. Together, all these pieces of evidence demonstrate that the speedup is related to delocalization. Even though only relatively small systems can be investigated, the evidence suggests that the scaling of the method with system size is favorable. Our method is illustrated by experimental results from a small online IBM quantum computer, showing how to verify the method in future as such machines improve. The cost of the catalytic method compared with the standard algorithm is only a constant factor.

Stem cell therapy has emerged as a new strategy for treatment of ischemic heart disease. Although umbilical cord‐derived mesenchymal stromal cells (UC‐MSCs) have been used preferentially in the acute ischemia model, data for the chronic ischemia model are lacking. In this study, we investigated the effect of UC‐MSCs originated from Wharton's jelly in the treatment of chronic myocardial ischemia in a porcine model induced by ameroid constrictor. Four weeks after ameroid constrictor placement, the surviving animals were divided randomly into two groups to undergo saline injection (n = 6) or UC‐MSC transplantation (n = 6) through the left main coronary artery. Two additional intravenous administrations of UC‐MSCs were performed in the following 2 weeks to enhance therapeutic effect. Cardiac function and perfusion were examined just before and at 4 weeks after intracoronary transplantation. The results showed that pigs with UC‐MSC transplantation exhibited significantly greater left ventricular ejection fraction compared with control animals (61.3% ± 1.3% vs. 50.3% ± 2.0%, p < .05). The systolic thickening fraction in the infarcted left ventricular wall was also improved (41.2% ± 3.3% vs. 46.2% ± 2.3%, p < .01). Additionally, the administration of UC‐MSCs promoted collateral development and myocardial perfusion. The indices of fibrosis and apoptosis were also significantly reduced. Immunofluorescence staining showed clusters of CM‐DiI‐labeled cells in the border zone, some of which expressed von Willebrand factor. These results suggest that UC‐MSC treatment improves left ventricular function, perfusion, and remodeling in a porcine model with chronic myocardial ischemia. Significance Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. Many patients with chronic myocardial ischemia are not suitable for surgery and have no effective drug treatment; they are called “no‐option” patients. This study finds that umbilical cord‐derived mesenchymal stromal cells transplanted by intracoronary delivery combined with two intravenous administrations was safe and could significantly improve left ventricular function, perfusion, and remodeling in a large‐animal model of chronic myocardial ischemia, which provides a new choice for the no‐option patients. In addition, this study used clinical‐grade mesenchymal stem cells with delivery and assessment methods commonly used clinically to facilitate further clinical transformation.

To deal with the problem of reliability degradation of radar emitter identification (REID) based on the traditional five parameters in a complex electromagnetic environment, a new feature extraction method based on the autocorrelation function of coherent signals, which makes full use of the coherent characteristic of modern radar emitters, is proposed in this paper. The main idea of this paper is utilizing the instantaneous autocorrelation function to obtain the correlation results of coherent and noncoherent signals. To this end, a new feature parameter, named the ratio of the secondary peak value to the main peak value (SMR), is defined to describe the difference of correlation results between coherent and noncoherent signals. Through simulation analysis, the feasibility of using SMR as the coherent feature for REID is verified. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the coherent feature, an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was introduced to compare the comprehensive performance of the coherent feature and the existing parameters, and then convolution neural network (CNN) and support vector machine (SVM) were selected as the classifier to check the recognition capability of the proposed feature. Simulation results show that the proposed feature can not only be used as a new feature for REID but can also be used as a supplement to existing feature parameters to improve the accuracy of REID as it is more insensitive to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and signal modulation type changes.

Background: Tumor PD-L1 levels have predictive value in PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint blockade therapies, yet biopsies can only provide baseline information. Whether PD-L1 expression on circulating tumor cells (CTCs) could serve as an alternative biomarker is of great interest. Design: We established an immunofluorescence assay for semi-quantitative assessment of the PD-L1 expression levels on CTCs with four categories (PD-L1negative, PD-L1low, PD-L1medium and PD-L1high). 35 patients with different advanced gastrointestinal tumors were enrolled in a phase 1 trial of a PD-1 inhibitor, IBI308. The CTC numeration and the PD-L1 expression levels were analyzed. Results: Prior the treatment of IBI308, 97% (34/35) patients had CTCs, ranging from1 to 70 (median 7). 74% (26/35) had PD-L1positive CTCs, and 60% (21/35) had at least one PD-L1high CTCs. The disease control (DC) rate in PD-L1high patients (48%) is much higher than the others (14%). The group with at least 20% abundance of PD-L1high CTCs had even higher DC rate of 64% (9/14), with only 14% DC rate for the rest (3/21). We also observed that the count changes of total CTC, PD-L1postive CTC and PD-L1high CTC correlate quite well with disease outcome (P

Background: Down-expression of microRNA-497 (miR-497) was often found in malignancies. The purposes of this study were to determine the expression of miR-497 in human osteosarcoma and to establish the association between miR-497 expression with cell survival and the sensitivity to cisplatin in human osteosarcoma cells. Methods: The effects of ectopic miR-497 expression on the cell survival and cisplatin sensitivity in osteosarcoma cells were measured by the Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was utilized to determine the expression of miR-497. The effects of ectopic miR-497 expression on the expression of VEGFA, Akt and p-Akt were determined by western blot. Results: Real-time quantitative PCR analysis revealed that miR-497 was significantly down-regulated in osteosarcoma tissues and in the osteosarcoma cell line SAOS-2 compared with adjacent nontumorous osteosarcoma tissues and normal human osteoblasts. Up-regulation of miR-497 inhibited cell survival and enhanced the sensitivity to cisplatin in osteosarcoma cells. In addition, knockdown of miR-497 induced osteosarcoma cells growth and cisplatin resistance. Luciferase reporter assay and western blot confirmed that VEGFA was a direct target of miR-497. PI3K inhibitor LY294002 abrogated miR-497 inhibitors induced cisplatin resistance. Conclusion: Taken together, our results suggest that miR-497 modulates the sensitivity to cisplatin at least in part through PI3K/Akt pathway in osteosarcoma cells.